I shall omit former particulars, and begin with informing the Reader, that, in 1792, I was strangely visited, by day and night, concerning what was coming upon the whole earth.
Joanna Southcott

I was now ordered to have my writings copied, and put into the printer's hand.
Joanna Southcott

If they can prove that I am wrong by that time, I will give it up to their wisdom, but not after to any one's judgment, till I see the end of another year; for the Lord will begin with a new century; and I will see what he will do, before I will hearken to any man's judgment.
Joanna Southcott

In 1792, my Sister told me, I was growing out of my senses.
Joanna Southcott

My faith grew strong, and I sent a letter (as I was ordered) to the Rev. Dignitary of the Cathedral of Exeter. I was assured, before I sent it, he would not answer it.
Joanna Southcott

New-Year's Day arriving, and the ministers, to whom I wrote, remaining silent, I consider their silence as evidence, that they cannot prove what I said not to be from the Lord, and have therefore published as I was directed.
Joanna Southcott

More Joanna Southcott quotes

AFTER having been twice driven back by heavy southwestern gales, Her Majesty’s ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R. N., sailed from Devonport on the 27^th of December, 1831. The object of the expedition was to complete the survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, commenced under Captain King in 1826 to 1830, -- to survey the shores of Chile, Peru, and of some islands in the Pacific—and to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the World.
Opening lines from The Voyage of The Beagle, by Charles Darwin, who set sail on December 27, 1831

At last we anchored within Sydney Cove. We found the little basin occupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses. In the evening I walked through the town, and returned full of admiration at the whole scene. It is a most magnificent testimony to the power of the British nation. Here, in a less promising country, scores of years have done many more times more than an equal number of centuries have effected in South America. My first feeling was to congratulate myself that I was born an Englishman. Upon seeing more of the town afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a little; but yet it is a fine town. The streets are regular, broad, clean, and kept in excellent order; the houses are of a good size, and the shops well furnished. It may be faithfully compared to the large suburbs which stretch out from London and a few other great towns in England; but not even near London or Birmingham is there an appearance of such rapid growth. The number of large houses and other buildings just finished was truly surprising; nevertheless, every one complained of the high rents and difficulty in procuring a house.
Charles Darwin, The Voyage of The Beagle, entry for January 12, 1836  

Nothing is more dangerous for man's private morality than the habit of command. The best man, the most intelligent, disinterested, generous, pure, will infallibly and always be spoiled at this trade. Two sentiments inherent in power never fail to produce this demoralization; they are: contempt for the masses and the overestimation of one's own merits.
Michael Bakunin, Russian anarchist, who arrived in London on December 27, 1861

Dear Madame, you make an absurd, though common mistake in supposing that any human creature can help you to be an authoress, if you cannot become one in virtue of your own powers ...
Charles Dickens writes to an inquiring reader, December 27, 1866

My bed-fellows are cramp and cough – we three all in one bed.
Last words of Charles Lamb, English essayist, who died on December 27, 1834

Nexte John the sonne of Zebedee hath his appoynted day,
Who once by cruell Tyrannts' will, constrayned was they say
Strong poyson up to drinke; therefore the Papistes do beleeve
That whoso puts their trust in him, no poyson them can greeve:
The wine beside that halowed is in worship of his name,
The Priestes doe give the people that bring money for the same.
And after with the selfe same wine are little manchets made
Agaynst the boystrous Winter stormes, and sundrie such like trade.
The men upon this solemne day, so take this holy wine
To make them strong, so do the maydes to make them faire and fine.
Naogeorgus (1511 - '63); The Popish Kingdom, (translated by Barnabe Googe, 1540 - '94). Today is the Feast of St John the Divine.

... a tall, ungainly man, about six feet four inches in height, and altogether his looks were not in his favour; he had a shaggy head of black hair, a low forehead with overhanging eyebrows nearly concealing his small eyes, a short snub nose, a face very much marked by smallpox, and was just such a man as one would suppose fit to commit burglary or murder.
Description of William Buckley by George Russell, who met the Australian bushman in 1836

I had nearly forgotten to give the reader a short personal description of our famous adventurer. Buckley must have been a splendid young man, being nearly seven feet high; even at the present moment there is something original, but quite sedate about him. His features have been rather darkened by 32 years exposure to the sun of Australia, and there is certainly something stern and 'savage' in them, however thoroughly softened by a moral and intelligent composure, if I shall call it so. He told me that amongst the 'savages' also, men of superior mind and understanding are to be found. Well then, Buckley was one of such.
Dr J Lohtsky, Polish explorer in Australia, describing William Buckley in an interview in the Tasmanian and Australia-Asiatic Review, January 26, 1838

December 27 is the 361^st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362^nd in leap years), with 4 days remaining.
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Feast day of St John the Divine (John the Apostle; the Theologian; 'the Evangelist')

(Flame heath, Erica flammea, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)

"The disciple whom Jesus loved" he calls himself in his Gospel. He was the only apostle  of Jesus who died a natural death, and he outlived all the others, dying at Ephesus aged 94, in 100 CE. Because John was the youngest apostle he is usually represented as young and handsome.

John was traditionally held to be the author of five books of the New Testament, including the Gospel of John, but many scholars today doubt this. Catholic/Orthodox tradition says that he and the Virgin Mary moved to Ephesus, where both eventually died. Many Evangelical and other scholars question this, especially due to the advanced age that Mary would have reached by this time. Some believe, however, that there is support for the idea that John did go to Ephesus and from there wrote the three epistles sometimes attributed to him.

Miracles

This St John’s symbol in art is a cup with a winged serpent flying out of it. The story behind this symbolism is as follows: Aristodemos, a priest of the goddess Diana, challenged John to drink a cup of poison. John made the sign of the cross on the cup, whereupon Satan in the form of a dragon flew from it, and John drank the potion without harm. Another legend says that when John was en route to preach in Asia, his ship was wrecked in a storm and all but John were cast ashore. John was assumed dead, but 2 weeks later the waves cast him ashore alive at the feet of his disciple Prochoros. When he prayed in a temple of Artemis, the daughter of Zeus and Leto, fire from heaven killed 200 pagan men who worshipped the statue of that goddess, but when the remaining group begged for mercy, John raised the 200 from the dead; they all converted to Christianity and were baptised.

St John is said to have taken Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Ephesus after the crucifixion. In 95 CE, during the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Domitian, he was plunged into boiling oil but remained unharmed, or so it is said. May 6 is the Christian feast day (‘The Latin gate’, named for the place of its occurrence) commemorating John’s torture in oil.

Domitian afterwards allegedly banished the saint to the Aegean Sea’s Isle of Patmos, where he witnessed and worked among the criminals condemned to slave in the mines, had his visions that he documented in The Book of the Revelation (the last book of the Holy Bible, sometimes erroneously referred to as Revelations). There is, however, some dispute as to the authorship of this book, as well as the Gospel.

The Roman Catholic Church commemorates St John on December 27. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him on September 26, and also remembers him on May 8, on which date Christians used to take from his grave fine ashes which were effective for healing the sick.

St John and the King of England

When the English king, St Edward the Confessor was dedicating a church to St John the Divine, a pilgrim came and asked alms in the saint's name, whereupon St Edward gave the stranger a ring from his finger. The pilgrim was St John; later he revealed himself to two English pilgrims in the Holy Land, bidding them to take the ring to the king in his name, and to ask him to prepare to leave this world. After this they fell asleep and awoke in Barham Downs, Kent, England, soon taking the ring to St Edward, on Christmas Day. On the vigil (January 5) of Epiphany, the king died. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, wearing the ring.

St John transformed branches of trees into fine gold, and sea-gravel into precious stones. St John is the patron of booksellers and publishers, due to the beauty of his writings. Today is traditionally a feast day for Freemasons. Traditionally, some Germans drink a loving-cup in his honour on this day. Elsewhere in Europe, people drank wine blessed by priests, to make them strong, because St John drank poison and was unharmed. Devotees made manchets or little loaves, and those who ate them were safe from poison for one year. Or, so it is said.

Patronage
Against poison; art dealers, Asia Minor, authors, bookbinders, booksellers, burns, editors, engravers, friendships, lithographers, painters, poisoning, printers, publishers, tanners, theologians, typesetters, writers

John

From Hebrew Jochanan, meaning 'God is gracious', via Greek and Latin Johannes. French: Jean (formerly Jehan). Italian: Giovanni. Russian: Ivan. Gaelic: Ian. Irish: Sean or Shaun. Welsh: Evan. German: Johann or Johannes (contracted to Jan, Jan and Hans).

The name has been used by more Popes than any other, the last being John XXIII.

Aix-en-Provence, France

On the Feast Day of St John, cats were formerly put together in a wicker basket and thrown into a bonfire kindled by the bishop and clergy. There might be associations with the friction between Christianity and older 'pagan' religions here; compare with this custom, that which was practised on the Feast Day of Corpus Christi on which people used to worship a cat.

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The Twelve Days of Christmas Day 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12 On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me Two turtle doves And a partridge in a pear tree.   Calli, Aztec Tonalpohualli, the sacred Aztec calendar: Today is Calli (House); its protector is Tepeyollotl, Heart of the Mountain. According to the Aztecs, Calli is a good day for rest, tranquillity and family life but not a good day for participating in public life. It’s best spent cementing relationships of trust and mutual interests.   Basilindia, ancient Greece (Dec 22 - 28) Halcyon Days, ancient Greece and Rome (Dec 14 - 28) Feast of Marimba, South Africa, Goddess of Musical Happiness Feast day of St Adelheidis of Tennenbach Feast day of St Bonaventure Tolomei Feast day of St Hesso of Beinwil Feast day of St John Stone Feast day of St Maximus of Alexandria Feast day of St Theodore Feast day of St Walto of Wessobrünn Feast of the Holy Innocents, Eastern Orthodox Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints Kwanzaa, African-American holiday (Dec 26 - Jan 1)       1571 Johannes Kepler (d. 1630), German astronomer who discovered the elliptical shape of planetary orbits 1654 Jacob Bernoulli (d. 1705), Swiss mathematician 1717 Pope Pius VI (d. 1799) 1773 George Cayley (d. 1857), naturalist, physical scientist, engineer, inventor, politician 1822 Louis Pasteur (d. 1895), French scientist 1823 Sir Mackenzie Bowell (d. 1896), fifth Prime Minister of Canada 1851 Percy Gilchrist (d. 1935), metallurgist 1860 David Hendricks Bergey (d. 1937), bacteriologist 1879 Sydney Greenstreet (d. 1954), British actor (The Maltese Falcon; Casablanca) 1888 Thea von Harbou (d. 1954), author and actress 1896 Carl Zuckmayer (d. 1977), author and dramatist 1896 Louis Bromfield (d. 1956), writer 1901 Marlene Dietrich (d. May 6, 1992), Cherman-born American actress and singer (The Blue Angel; Shanghai Express), chosen by Empire magazine as one of the '100 sexiest stars in film history'. Yup, that's what it said. 1906 Oscar Levant (d. 1972), composer, actor 1907 Sebastian Haffner (d. 1999), publicist 1915 William Masters (d. 2001), sexologist 1927 Agnes Nixon, soap opera producer, director, writer 1943 Cokie Roberts, journalist   1944 Senator Bob Brown (Dr Robert James Brown), Australian Senator, the leader of the Australian Greens and the first openly homosexual member of the Parliament of Australia. Bob Brown was born in Oberon, New South Wales and graduated in medicine from Sydney University. He moved to Tasmania in 1972 and worked as a general medical practitioner in Launceston. He soon became involved in the state's environmentalist movement, in particular the campaign to save Lake Pedder, and was a member of the United Tasmania Group in 1972, Australia's first 'green' party. In a newspaper interview at this time, Brown 'came out' as gay. In 1978 Brown was appointed director of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society. In the early 1980s he emerged as a leader of the campaign to prevent construction of the Franklin Dam, which would have drowned the Franklin River valley as part of a hydroelectricity project. The campaign was a success, and in 1983 Brown was elected to the Tasmanian Parliament as its first Green member. In 1989 Tasmania's system of proportional representation allowed the Greens to win five out of 35 seats in the Tasmanian House of Assembly, and Brown became their unofficial leader (the Greens do not have formal leadership positions). He agreed to support a minority Labor Party government, but this agreement broke down over forestry issues in 1992. In 1993 Brown resigned from the House of Assembly and stood unsuccessfully for the federal House of Representatives. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate for Tasmania in 1996, and was an outspoken voice in opposition to the conservative government of John Howard, and in support of green and human rights issues, including international issues such as Tibet, East Timor and West Papua. Senator Brown created international headlines on October 23, 2003 when he was suspended from the Parliament for breaking with protocol and interjecting during an address by the visiting President of the United States, George W Bush. Brown's Senate colleague, Kerry Nettle, was also suspended. When President Bush visited Canberra, left-wing members of the Labor Party decided to present him with a letter setting out their opposition to the Iraq war, but not to disrupt his speech. Only Brown and Nettle took their opposition to the point of interjecting during his address to a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. During Bush's speech Brown and Nettle wore signs referring to David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, two Australian citizens currently being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, following their apprehension by United States forces in either (this is disputed) Afghanistan or Pakistan. After the speech, however, Brown shook Bush's hand. Bush accepted the interjections with good humour, but the Speaker of the House, Neil Andrew, formally "named" Brown and Nettle and they were suspended from the Parliament for 24 hours which prevented them from being present for -- and making similar interjections during -- a similar address from Chinese President Hu Jintao the next day. In December 2004, Gunns Limited attempted to sue Brown and others for $6.3 million, in an action which media reports say related to "ongoing damaging campaigns and activities" against the company. The original Statement of Claim issued by Gunns was struck out by the Supreme Court and costs were awarded against Gunns for the initial proceedings. Brown has published several books including Wild Rivers (1983), Lake Pedder (1986), Tarkine Trails (1994), The Greens (1996) (with Peter Singer) and Memo For A Saner World (2004). In 2004 James Norman published the first authorized biography of Brown, entitled Bob Brown: A Gentle Revolutionary. Brown lives in Hobart, Tasmania with his long-time partner. Source: Wikipedia Senator Brown's website    Senator Brown's parliamentary website George W Bush's speech to the Australian Parliament    Bob Brown suspended over blackmail barb The Writ lodged in the Supreme Court of Victoria by Gunns against Bob Brown and others     1948 Gérard Depardieu, French actor (Green Card) 1960 Maryam d'Abo, actress 1965 Salman Khan, actor, India 1973 Wilson Cruz, actor 1975 Heather O'Rourke (d. 1988), child actress (Poltergeist)   Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send free e-cards to friends & family for celebrations & any topic Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards New Year's Eve [ Dec 31 ] Birthdays Hanukkah [ Varies ] Kwanzaa [ Dec 26 - Jan 1 ] Varies Full Moon Day Varies Friday the 13th Varies Buddhist e-cards Varies Christian e-cards Varies Hindu e-cards Varies Jewish e-cards Varies Muslim e-cards Varies Pagan e-cards Varies Peace e-cards Varies Friendship e-cards Varies Hanukkah December 21